Hands-On Review: Furman P-1800 AR Voltage Regulator/Power Conditioner

Pro gear needs pro juice—the kind of steady supply of power that's immune to typical line-level irregularities like brownouts and over-voltages when powering everything from iPods to multiple high-load power amps.

Those irregularities not only can compromise your gear but can also ruin your show or session when the lights go dim, if even for a split second. Unfortunately, with more and more equipment on a stretched grid vying for that elusive, steady 120V, those irregularities are more common than ever.

Furman's P-1800 AR Voltage Regulator/Power Conditioner takes away worries about your power source, delivering stable, filtered power to its nine outlets (eight rear-panel, one front-panel). It can handle loads totaling up to 15 amperes as long as the input voltage is equal to or greater than 124 VAC. The P-1800 AR also provides some niceties for hardworking stage techs, like a USB charger on the front panel and a rear-panel BNC connection with switch for a gooseneck lamp, as well as widely spaced outlets with locking Velcro straps.

Take it to the bank

The hefty (15 lb.) rackmount P-1800 AR supplies power to two banks of AC receptacles on the unit's rear panel. Bank A features three outlets spaced to accommodate "wall wart" converter plugs while Bank B offers an additional five maximum-load AC receptacles.

The front panel includes another AC receptacle to the left of the USB charging port—convenient when you need to plug something in at the front of the rack. The display area features a blue LED voltage/true RMS ammeter that's dimmable and a tri-color voltage-range indicator (green for optimal, yellow for caution when input fluctuates beyond the acceptable range, and red for warning when input current is beyond the acceptable capture range to ensure a stable supply of 120 VAC). There's also a Protection OK indicator and an Extreme Voltage Shutdown indicator that only becomes visible if dangerous levels of voltage cause the P-1800 AR to stop supplying power to its outputs, requiring a reset after the offending condition is corrected.

The heart of the P-1800 AR is a solid state multitap autotransformer—in layman's terms, a component that takes low or high voltage (97V-137V) coming in from the inlet and converts it to a safe and steady 120V (±5V) to all of the outlets. The P-1800 AR also filters and purifies AC power with Linear Filtration Technology optimized for audio and video gear, and safeguards equipment with Furman's Series Multi-Stage Protection and Extreme Voltage Shutdown technologies.

Powerful solution

There's no substitute for peace of mind when setting up for a show or equipping your studio, and anyone who's worked a room with old wiring or built a studio in an area with frequent storms or unreliable service knows how vulnerable your gear and data can be to power fluctuations. The P-1800 AR gives you that peace of mind with enough capacity to handle a small setup or start setting up power for a concert-sized rig.